The Chef and the Ghost of
Bartholomew Addison Jenkins
Aletta Thorne
Genre: paranormal romance,
mainstream romance, holiday
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Date of Publication: October 26, 2017
ASIN: B076WJK63L
Number of pages: 158
Word Count: 51,000
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Tagline: What happens if you have a one-nighter—with a ghost?
Book Description:
Autumn, 1982. MTV is new, poodle perms are the rage, and life just might be getting better for Alma Kobel. Her ugly divorce is final at last. Her new job as chef at Bright Day School’s gorgeous old estate is actually fun. But the place is haunted—and so is Alma’s apartment. Bartholomew Addison Jenkins’ ghost has been invisibly watching her for months.
When he materializes one night, Alma discovers Bart—as he likes to be called—has talents she couldn’t have imagined…and a horrifying past. What happens if you have a one-nighter with a ghost? And what happens if one night is all you want—and you end up ghosting him?
Some spirits don’t like taking “no” for an answer.
Excerpt
2:
2:
When she opened
the door to her apartment, her stomach sank. A dim square of light flickered in
the hall outside her bedroom door. Yikes! Was I actually dumb enough to have
left candles burning? Alma was scolding herself for having been dangerously
spacey when she realized that the light from her room did not come from any
sort of flame.
the door to her apartment, her stomach sank. A dim square of light flickered in
the hall outside her bedroom door. Yikes! Was I actually dumb enough to have
left candles burning? Alma was scolding herself for having been dangerously
spacey when she realized that the light from her room did not come from any
sort of flame.
It came from
Bart. He was standing beside her bed in his high-collared, loose-fitting shirt
and his knee britches. And that was … not really strange at all. Just the
friendly, resident ghost. No danger of burning down the house. A relief—and
Alma had to be honest with herself—a pleasant surprise.
Bart. He was standing beside her bed in his high-collared, loose-fitting shirt
and his knee britches. And that was … not really strange at all. Just the
friendly, resident ghost. No danger of burning down the house. A relief—and
Alma had to be honest with herself—a pleasant surprise.
“Good evening,
m’lady,” he said.
m’lady,” he said.
Alma opened her
mouth to say hello back—and burped, instead. A Garbage Pie burp was an
impressive burp. “Oh, wow. Excuse me.”
mouth to say hello back—and burped, instead. A Garbage Pie burp was an
impressive burp. “Oh, wow. Excuse me.”
Bart chuckled as
she dropped her purse in the chair next to her dresser.
she dropped her purse in the chair next to her dresser.
“Rich dinner?”
“A Garbage Pie,”
she said. “It sounds awful, but it’s—you know what pizza pie is, right?”
she said. “It sounds awful, but it’s—you know what pizza pie is, right?”
“The previous
residents of this apartment ate little else. I know well what Garbage Pies
are,” he said. “I do not fear them.”
residents of this apartment ate little else. I know well what Garbage Pies
are,” he said. “I do not fear them.”
Then he stepped
in front of Alma and slipped his arms around her, something else that should
have been shocking but wasn’t. Just the resident ghost, after all. The resident
ghost who can really kiss. Bart’s touch tingled with cold fire.
in front of Alma and slipped his arms around her, something else that should
have been shocking but wasn’t. Just the resident ghost, after all. The resident
ghost who can really kiss. Bart’s touch tingled with cold fire.
“Well, hello,”
Alma said.
Alma said.
“I missed you,”
said Bart, then he put his mouth over hers and kissed her. She felt something
feathery—his chest touching hers--and she nearly dissolved into it. His tongue
was cool in her mouth, and full of sparks. He tasted almost sweet.
said Bart, then he put his mouth over hers and kissed her. She felt something
feathery—his chest touching hers--and she nearly dissolved into it. His tongue
was cool in her mouth, and full of sparks. He tasted almost sweet.
About the Author:
Aletta Thorne believes in ghosts. In her non-writing life, she is a choral singer, a poet, a sometimes DJ, and a writer about things non-supernatural. But she’s happiest in front of a glowing screen, giving voice to whoever it is that got her two cats all riled up at three AM. Yes, her house is the oldest one on her street. And of course, it’s quite seriously haunted (scared the ghost investigator who came to check it out). She is named after a little girl in her family who died in the late nineteenth century, at the age of two. The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins is her first romance.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alettasghosts/
And personal: https://www.facebook.com/aletta.thorne.3
Blog: https://chrispygal.weebly.com/the-wicked-aletta-thorne
Interview with Aletta Thorne
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
They say there are planners and pants-ers in fiction, and I am a pants-er. I start out with a premise, throw my characters into it, and let the story happen. I tend to write about things I know well because there’s a depth of knowledge you can’t fake with a Google search! Fortunately, I’ve done a lot of strange things to make a living—and I have been a chef, like the main character in The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins.
How did you do research for your book?
My story is set in 1982, so I was constantly online, filling in my memory with exactly what videos were on MTV then and looking at news photos from the time to make sure I remembered the clothing right. Some of it actually wasn’t too awful! For the alcoholic art professor ex-husband, I talked to a bunch of friends of mine who are illustrators and artists about what kind of large-format painting that awful character might have been doing in 1982, and how he would have achieved a fair amount of success at it.
Do you have another profession besides writing?
Writers NEED to have another profession! I am a retired schoolteacher. I taught writing and English in the public schools for many years. When I was in my thirties, I was a chef, like the main character in my novel. And I have dabbled in music for many years, too. Currently I sing in my husband’s choir, and DJ at Area 24 Radio, an internet place I run with my friends.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
I think I’d like to see a few periods. I’d like to see my house right after it was built in the year 1740! It really is that old. When we rehabbed the place, we found a lot of clues as to what it must have looked like, but how cool would it be to see its first inhabitants! I’d also love to spend a little time in the late 19th century.
What is your next project?
I write poetry and YA fiction as well as romance under another name. In fact, The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins is my very first for-adults novel. I’m working on both a YA book and a romance about an older heroine, a ghost, and a tiny house right now. And I have a poetry book called Unforgetting coming out on Kelsay Books in the spring of 2018.
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